Injury
caused by falls is a leading cause of emergency department visits and hospitalizations
among seniors
1. Falls can
dramatically impact seniors’ quality of life and can lead to chronic pain, less
mobility, loss of independence and even death
2.
As hospital
overcrowding continues to be a focus of the Ontario health care system,
preventing and reducing the rate of falls both in the community and within the
walls of health care institutions can make a big impact on this quality issue.
It can also safeguard seniors’ independence and health.
In
recognition of Fall Prevention Month in November, Quorum is pleased to showcase
organizations’ quality improvement efforts across health sectors to prevent and
reduce the rate of falls.
Fall
prevention in acute care:
At Markham
Stouffville Hospital, although their corporate fall prevention policy had been in
place for many years, there were certain in-patient areas that had a high
number of falls causing harm.
The hospital
decided to complete a current state assessment of all inpatient units and compare their fall prevention
policy with the implementation in these units. This helped to define gaps in
their current strategy and identify opportunities for improvement.
Their fall
prevention revitalization efforts have made a big impact on the rate of falls
resulting in harm – decreasing from 37.5% in 2017/18 to 28.4% in
2018/19, which was just shy of our goal of 26.0%.
Read
the full story here.
Fall
prevention in long-term care:
Knollcrest
Lodge has significantly reduced the rate of falls in their long-term care home
from 16.7% in 2012/13 to 9.9% in 2017/18, but the improvement didn’t happen
overnight.
Their
quality journey began in 2012 and has evolved over the years to include a
multi-pronged approach to this complex issue. Their fall prevention program has
even expanded to measure its potential impact on emergency department (ED)
visits.
Read
the full story here.
Fall
prevention in home and community care:
Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) LHIN has seen a
steady decline in their rate of falls with injury among home care patients over
the past few years, with approximately a 50% rate reduction.
Focusing on high risk patients, using digital
tools, and creating a falls care pathway have all contributed to their success.
Read the full story here.
Fall
prevention in primary care:
North York
Family Health Team (FHT) initiated a formalized interdisciplinary falls
screening program that links seniors to other FHT services and external
resources such as home and community care, formalized falls programs, and
exercise programs depending on clients’ needs.
Their goal
for the 2019/2020 fiscal year is to have 80% of clients 75 years of age and
older screened for falls risk and 100% of these clients screening positive to
be followed up with appropriately.
In the
future, for patients who have screened positive for falls risk, the FHT would
like to incorporate follow up at a year’s time to reassess and provide
additional supports to these patients.
Read
the full story here.
How do
you stand up to falls?
We heard
time and again that “falls are everyone’s business” and this important topic
needs to be a priority for all levels of an organization.
Now, we want
to hear from you!
How do
you help to prevent falls in your organization? Click on the “ADD A COMMENT”
button below to share your advice and lessons learned.
1. Falls and vehicle collisions top causes of injury hospitalizations for seniors.
2. Seniors' Falls in Canada